Rethinking Life

“Journey or destination?” she asked.

“Journey,” he said, looking up from his book.  “Why?”

“Just wondering.”

“It has to be the journey,” he said, closing closing the book.  “It’s during the journey you may learn things, you didn’t know you needed to learn.  Meet people.  Anything can happen on a journey.”

“I just want the destination,” she said, leaning back in her chair.  “I don’t care about what I might have learned on the journey. I believe I would always learn more at the destination.  The journey is a joke.  At least to me.  Besides, doesn’t  everything we do end in a destination.  Making dinner…the journey would be chopping and stirring, which many people may find enlightening.  Me?  I just want to eat.  When I go through what you guys call the journey, it’s only  because I have no other choice.  If I had a choice, I skip the journey and go directly to where I want to be.”

“You miss so much,” he said, shaking his head.

“To you, maybe.  But I think you just drag things out and it’s boring, or annoying, and it makes me thirsty.”

“We have nothing in common,” he said.

“We like pizza.”

“But I like the anticipation of going to the pizza place,” he said, “while you discount that experience and just want to be in the cozy booth with the pizza in front of you.”

“So true,” she said.  “I think being born, childhood and growing up was stupid,” she sighed.  “I would rather have just appeared at twenty, knowing the entire background and start from there.  The experience doesn’t make you who you are, the idea and memory of those things does, so if the memory is there, you don’t need to learn how to ride a bike, you’ll already know. But I’m sure learning how to ride a bike was more fun for you than the actual riding.”

“Not really.  I broke a tooth.  And, it sounds as if you’re talking about a robot.”

“Maybe, but I still think it’s ridiculous.  You could skip all the dental appointments and just start from wherever you like.”

“But isn’t that the whole point.  The doing?”

“There is no point.  People like to think there is, but there isn’t.  Life is a bad video game and we are simply moved around by sadistic players.”

“Wow,” he said.  “What a terrible way to look at things.”

“Not for me.  Remember everyone is different, blah, blah, blah.”

“So, if we wanted to go to Paris, you wouldn’t enjoy the trip, you’d just want to be there.”

“No, I’d love to walk around an airpot, hoping our flight wasn’t cancelled, then stand in line to be seated, then sit in a plane for a million hours looking out a small window until it was pitch dark, using a bathroom the size of my wallet, when instead I could have been in a five star hotel, having a delicious meal and being dazzled by all the lights and white linen tablecloths, as well as the gorgeous waiters.”

“That was the longest sentence I ever heard but I get your point.  Still,  you have stories about when you did those things.”

“To emphasize how insane it was.  And this whole life thing.  OMG.  Talk about dragging something out.”

He laughed.  “Most people wouldn’t agree with you.  There are those who think life is a gift, something wonderful that should be…”

“Uh huh.  I knew some of those people.  Their entire family could be murdered in front of them and they would carry on because life is so amazing.  Life would be more amazing without the violence, disease, discrimination…”

“You’re right.”

“I know.  But there are those who believe they are learning lessons and that’s why they’re here.  Torture is a lesson only strange people would want to learn.”

“I agree.”

“And what about cats?” she asked, sitting up straighter.

“What about them?”

“We wouldn’t be able to live without them.”

“Why not?”

“Cats and chocolate keep women from killing men.”

“Good point,” he said, staring at her.

“There’s no journey without a cat.  The cat and the person become one and they are always at their destination.”

“Okay.  Good to know,” he said, smiling.

“I’m glad we’re just friends with benefits because we’d never make it together,” she said.  “You’d always be on a journey and I’d be waiting for you at the destination.”

“So you don’t want this engagement ring?” he asked, holding out a box.

“Seriously?”

“Thought it was about time.  I can’t get you to Paris without a journey, however.”

“It’s beautiful,” she said, watching him put the ring on her finger.  “Do you truly believe we can be together forever.  I mean Journey vs Destination and all that.”

“I do, actually.  It seems to have worked out so far and now and then you can journey with me and I can jump to the destination with you.”

“Okay.  If you think we can do it.  I’m in.  And anyway, I love you.”

“I know.  I love you too.”

“I know, she laughed, falling on top of him.  “So, do we have to do the engaged journey or can we go directly to the destination and get married right away.”

“I’m good with going straight to the destination.”

“Perfect.”

“The journey will be Paris,” he said.

“Yes, but if we decide to stay there, it will only be a one-way journey.”

“True,” he said. “So very true.”

“You’re good at working things like this out,” she said.

“I’ve known you for a long time.”

“Probably helps, right?”

He laughed again. “Just a little.”

“Are we getting married here or in Paris?”

“Red tape in Paris.  We can fly to Vegas tomorrow and get married, then fly to Paris from there.”

“Maybe we could extend the journey and stay in Vegas for a couple of days and then fly to Paris.”

“Sounds good to me.”

And so, they got married in Vegas, stayed a few days, then flew to Paris.  Their flight wasn’t cancelled and she fell asleep on the plane so the trip seemed shorter than usual.  They are still fighting their way through the paperwork in Paris, but they did find an apartment they love and plan on living there.  Things are difficult and it’s a rough red tape journey, but they are both looking forward to the destination.  Sometimes things just work out and the journey and destination get kind of mixed together so much, it’s hard to tell which is which.